A 737 was hijacked by a gunman and forced to fly to the Canary Islands enroute to France.
The gunman was overpowered by passengers and flight crew when the plane landed and the pilot stood on the brakes in a successful attempt to cause the standing gunman to lose his footing.
That’s an incredible story. It’s MUCH different than the original hearsay reports that I heard. They said that there was a shootout w/ police, and that several passengers were injured in that shootout before the man was aprehended. Thankfully, this was not the case.
…Not to mention, this will make a much better movie. 
It reads like an episode of Stupid Criminals. You see the guy throw a hammer at the Plexiglas, only to have it hit him in the head. You hijack a French airline, (don’t speak any French) then let the Capt. make cabin announcements (in French). All the women and children get up and move to the back and you find yourself surrounded by men. Then to make in worse you end up with 2nd burns and I’m sure some broken bones.
I wonder if someone hijacked a US carrier flight we could speak Pig Latin or Turkey Talk and confuse them.
Just one point of correction - the airline’s home country is Mauritania, not France. The spoken there are Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, and Wolof (source: cia.gov/cia/publications/fa … nt/mr.html)
David –
Just trying to track back (not doubting you) I get a bad link from your CIA.gov post…update? Thanks.
Try this: cia.gov/cia/publications/fa … os/mr.html
Dave linked to a “print friendly” version of that page.
Thanks for letting me know. I have no problem with people checking my links - that’s why I put them there.
Thanks, JHEM, for posting a better link.
So that’s where they speak Wolof?!
“Most Wolof speaking people would agree that Wolof is a very difficult language to teach. It’s complexity and lack of tight conventions are two of many reasons why many Wolofs feel that Wolof is simply unteachable–even to those eager to learn.”
http://www.wolofonline.com/